Pagina's

donderdag 27 november 2014

It’s kind
of funny that I started creating bread again. For many years I just gave up on
bread baking and eating it as well. Buying gluten-free bread I gave up really
quickly, because it’s inedible, I think. Most of it then. It’s
expensive, tastes like cardboard and after a day you can throw it away; filled
with starches and gums and other ingredients that has nothing to do with bread.

I did make
flat breads a lot, quick and easy, as well as the seed bread that I ate for
almost a year now. But suddenly I was craving for a real slice of bread and
started my survey.

Bread is
flour, water, salt and a rising agent. But, gluten-free bread baking is more
than that, the rising is a problem, so can be the taste. There is only 1 advantage
when baking gluten-free bread and that is that it doesn’t need any kneading!
Just stir everything vigorously and you’re done!

I am going
to give you my first new bread recipe of a very good tasting buckwheat boule with
a crunchy crust.

Be aware though that every type of flour, oven, surrounding
temperature has influence on your bread, so maybe the first time you bake this
bread it’s not perfect yet or it looks different then mine.

Just keep
on going and let me know of the results or question me if there are any
problems!

Mix water
and olive oil in a small bowl and pour straight into the dry ingredients. Mix
with a sturdy spoon into a batter-like-dough. It will be a little wet, that’s
ok.

I leave the
bread overnight with a humid cloth on top on room temperature and bake the
bread first thing in the morning.

Pre-heat
your oven on 200°C together with the baking tray and a small bowl of water. (to
create a slightly moist atmosphere)

Take out
the dough carefully and put it on your work bench which is sprinkled with a
little flour on a piece of baking paper. Form the dough, do not handle too
much!! into a nice boule shape and score the dough with a sharp knife. This is
important because the rising of the bread in the hot oven will otherwise crack the bread’s
crust.

Put the
bread in the oven and after closing the door, immediately put the temperature
on 180°C and bake the bread for 1 hour on this temperature. Then after 1 hour
lower the temperature to 150°C and bake
for another hour. Check the bread with a thermometer. The inside must be
between 95° and 100°C. The crust is really crunchy!

Let it cool
completely before cutting a slice!

The bread
stays well for about 3 days, which I think is very important, so you don’t have
to freeze it. It’s a dense bread, not light and fluffy, a real bread so to
speak! And gluten-free!

I had some
of my friends, wheatbread eaters, have a taste and they were all pleasantly
surprised by the taste and structure.

Then, as an
addition to make for example bread chewy and bind the ingredients together, I
add psyllium husks, chia seeds and/or ground flax seeds. In my beginner’s years of gluten-free
baking I used xanthan gum for binding, but I came to the conclusion that it
gives me digestive problems like bloating, gas, intestinal cramps and so on, so
I don’t use it anymore.

Some baking
can be done with just a single flour, think of buckwheat crackers, socca,
brownies, cookies, but baking a bread with a single flour mostly turns out
hard, dry and not tasty at all. That’s why I make a combination of whole grain,
starches, nut flours and 1 of the additions.

So in order
to prevent your baking from falling apart and give it some structure as well of taste, which is so
different because of the missing link: gluten, the best idea for making a tasty
bread or all purpose flour mixture is to make a mix of ingredients.

All flours
and starches have different properties, flavours and baking qualities, so in order
to make a mix that suits your taste or purpose you can choose to make different
mixes. It is also nice to experiment with the flavours.

I want to
start and share with you my basic buckwheat
all-purpose flour, because I love buckwheat
for its taste, it’s easy to digest and it’s considered a complete protein: it
contains all 8 essential amino acids, it’s high in fiber, calcium, phosphorus
and magnesium. It’s a whole “grain”, so eating it will make you feel satisfied
and full.

Brown rice flour I usebecause
it’s versatile,whole grain and not too
expensive, a great source of fiber, selenium and magnesium.

Tapioca flour: made from the dried cassave root. It doesn’t
contain much nutrition, a little iron and some trace minerals like calcium and
copper, no fiber, but it has binding properties, which we need in gluten-free
baking and it makes a good crust and a lighter texture. And the price is right
too!

Almond flour: I love the taste and texture of blanched almond flour, it gives baked
goods a rich texture and taste as well as moistness. It is high in protein, Vitamin
E, magnesium and it’s a low-glycemic food (releases its glucose slowly).

Okay, now grab
a big pot and start mixing; I suggest you use a scale because cups can vary
much in weight. I give you 3 measurements, 1 to first make a small batch, then
double and triple to make a bigger batch.

All-purpose buckwheat flour mix

75-150-225
g brown rice flour

75-150-225
g buckwheat flour

95-190-285
g tapioca flour

45-90-135 g
blanched almond flour

Put
everything in a pot, close the lid and shake well. That’s it. Now you can make
the muffins from last week or these easy-peasy flat breads. Next time I will
post a beautiful buckwheat boule recipe with this flour mix!

dinsdag 11 november 2014

Baking warm bread, muffins, speculaas. It's the time of year and how good is it with a warm oven in the kitchen and lovely smells pouring out of it every day. The only problem is that I cannot eat all of it, so I have to restrict myself a bit.

I bought myself a slow-cooker and am experimenting with it too now. almost every day. I must say that I like the way things cook so far. I made a pumpkin butter from Tasty Yummies, really delightful! I made a creamy brown basmati breakfast porridge, which I will share shortly and I even baked a gluten-free buckwheat bread in it!

Making a good and tasty, crusty gluten-free bread is one of my goals this winter. I bought this book and I am really inspired by it. But as you know I cannot follow a recipe to the dot, so I am struggling to make my own variations and I will keep you informed!

Instead of
the all-time favourite banana bread I like to bake in autumn, I made these warm flavoured pumpkin spice muffins. They are lightly sweet and rich from the spices and pumpkin puree.

You’ll
need:

dry ingredients:

1 cup GF
flour mix (next post more about it)

¼ cup
almond flour

1 tsp
baking powder

¼ tsp sea
salt

1 heaped
tsp pumpkin spices

1/3 cup of
unrefined cane sugar

wet
ingredients:

½ cup
pumpkin puree

1 organic
egg

¼ cup olive
oil

1 tbsp
vanilla extract

lemon zest

¼ cup + 2
tbsp rice milk or nut milk

Pre heat
the oven on 350 °F or 175°C.

Mix the dry
ingredients in a big bowl.

Mix the wet
ingredients in a small bowl.

Pour wet
into dry and mix quickly and well.

Divide over 6 mini loaf pans, or 10 paper muffin liners and bake in the middle of the oven
for 40-45 minutes till done. Prick a bamboo skewer inside and when it comes out
clean, they are done.

Over mij

Since november 2007 celiac disease has been diagnosed with me and did I start with the gluten-free diet and lifestyle. I'm very interested in health and food issues. And besides, I Love Cooking. I think cooking is creating. I'm not content with the gluten free range of products in the shops in Holland, so I make most of the food myself. I think gluten free food must be healthy, real food, but above all very tasty. Also non-celiacs must (and they do!) enjoy my food.
I am 50 years old and I live, together with my son, in Rotterdam, Holland.***
Sinds november 2007 is bij mij coeliakie geconstateerd en ben ik begonnen met een glutenvrij dieet. Ik ben erg geïnteresseerd in gezondheid en voeding. Daarnaast ben ik gek op koken. Ik ben niet tevreden over het aanbod van glutenvrije artikelen in de winkels, dus maak ik vrijwel alles zelf. Glutenvrij eten moet lekker zijn, gezond en ook voor niet-coeliakers aantrekkelijk zijn.